During organizing campaigns, one of the aspects most misrepresented by union organizers is the process of collective bargaining. Organizers typically mislead prospective members on two key points of the process. First, organizers describe a bargaining process where new union members are either in charge or involved in the actual bargaining. Second, organizers make prospective members believe that the issues that are important to them will be key issues at the bargaining table. Neither of these representations is true. Most often, the national union manages the bargaining process. Members of the local are generally “included” on the bargaining team, but they are generally figureheads, and are not allowed to bring issues to the table. Secondly, there are a list of items that always take precedence to any of the new members concerns, such as dues check-off and union security clauses. Recent negotiations at Quincy Medical Center in Massachusetts demonstrate this reality. The union agreed to wage reductions in exchange for seniority and “other provisions” in the contract with the hospital. As is typical, the union is more concerned with provisions that impact union power and control issues than it is member benefits.
